a. Field of the Invention
The instant invention is directed toward a headrail and control system for powered coverings for architectural openings. More specifically, it relates to a headrail and control system for a motorized adjustable covering for an architectural opening.
b. Background Art
It is well known to use adjustable coverings over architectural openings. Such adjustable coverings include cellular panels, Venetian blinds, and many other mechanisms for controlling the passage of light, vision, or air through the architectural openings. For example, cellular panels and Venetian blinds may be adjusted by retracting or extending them, and Venetian blinds may be adjusted by tilting the slats comprising part of the blind. Depending upon the specific type of mechanism, other adjustments are possible.
It is also known in the art to power these adjustable coverings. For example, electric motors may be used in connection with the adjustable coverings to facilitate retracting the coverings or otherwise adjusting the coverings to control the amount of light, vision, or air that may pass through the coverings. It is also known in the art to use battery-powered electric motors, particularly in applications where access to an electrical outlet or other electrical wiring may not exist. When an adjustable covering is battery powered, it is challenging to design an aesthetically pleasing system wherein the battery or batteries are convenient to the electric actuators they power. To design an attractive battery-powered adjustable covering, it is preferable that the battery or batteries are located within the headrail and thereby hidden from view. Placing the battery or batteries within the headrail, however, can make it difficult to change the batteries as they become depleted.
In applications where access to the architectural covering may be limited, remote controls have been successfully used to operate the electric motors that allow a user to selectively configure the covering. For example, when adjustable coverings are used in connection with elevated architectural openings, it may be quite inconvenient to manually change the configuration of the coverings. Heretofore systems used to receive electromagnetic remote-control signals, e.g., infrared or visible signals, have been obtrusive and at times unreliable. Thus, there remains a need for a more reliable, compact, and unobtrusive system for receiving signals transmitted from a remote-control device.
In addition, known tilt control systems are often ill-suited for use in a motorized adjustable covering. Generally, a covering is adjusted by the connection of control cords to a drum that is rotatably fixed to a control shaft. For example, the slats of a Venetian blind are usually tilted via connection to a tilt roll (or drum) onto which the ladder laces of the Venetian blind are wound as the tilt rod is rotated. The ladder laces are wound onto the tilt drum, which has a significantly larger diameter than the tilt rod. That large diameter creates a relatively long moment arm and increased torque on the mechanism used to drive the rotation of the tilt rod. The increased torque requires a more powerful motor to turn the tilt rod.
Moreover, these known control systems are often difficult to assemble and/or manufacture. For example, the tilt drum generally fits tightly onto the tilt rod so that it rotates in unison with the tilt rod. As such, the tilt rod and tilt drum must be manufactured to relatively tight tolerances. Otherwise, the tilt drum can be too tight to slide easily onto the tilt rod or too loose to operate properly. Moreover, the connections of the ladder laces to the tilt drum are often tedious and time-consuming.
Finally, known tilt control systems require separate clutching mechanisms to prevent the over-winding of the control cord onto the tilt drum. For example, a motorized tilt control system for a Venetian blind must include some mechanism to prevent the tilt rod from further winding and unwinding the ladder cords after the slats are fully tilted. Otherwise, the winding of the ladder cords will actually lift the entire covering towards the headrail and can cause damage to the covering, the headrail, and the motor used to drive the tilt rod. Known clutching systems are often expensive and require separate mechanisms apart from those used to accomplish the tilting of the slats. Thus, there remains a need for a control system that can be advantageously used with a motorized adjustable covering, facilitates easy installation and manufacture, and does not require a separate clutching mechanism.
The headrail of the present invention has been designed such that a battery or batteries are conveniently held within a headrail housing along with a signal receiver and a battery-powered motor or other actuator used to adjust the configuration of a covering for an architectural opening. The present headrail also includes improved hardware for mounting the motor and, in the case of coverings comprising tiltable elements, improved hardware for mounting a tilt rod. Additionally, in the case of coverings comprising tiltable elements, the invention includes improved hardware for adjustably attaching the tiltable elements to the tilt rod in a manner that prevents over rotation of the elements.
In one form of the present invention, the headrail has been designed such that the battery or batteries for are conveniently hidden within the headrail and accessible for removal and replacement. A battery magazine is attached, preferably removably, within the interior of the housing. A pair of magazine end caps are attached to the ends of the battery magazine. These end caps may have tabs extending from their bottom edges. The tabs are inserted into corresponding tab slots formed in the housing. Further, each magazine end cap may comprise a first attachment ear and a second attachment ear. Attachment screws pass through though these attachment ears and screw into battery magazine screw channels to attach the end caps to the battery magazine.
In another form of the invention, the battery magazine comprises a front leg and a rear leg. These front and rear legs of the battery magazine are supported on a bottom wall of the housing. In yet another form of the invention, the housing comprises a front wall, a rear wall, and a portion extending into the interior of the housing from either the front wall or the rear wall. This extending portion interacts with a placement tang that comprises part of the battery magazine thereby helping to hold the battery magazine in position within the housing.
In yet another form of the invention, the bottom wall of housing has an opening in it through which one or more batteries may be loaded into or extracted from the battery magazine.
To conduct electricity from the batteries held by the battery magazine to the motor, the headrail further comprises conductive terminals attached to the magazine end caps by fasteners. A spring may be attached within the battery magazine to enhance electrical contact between the batteries and the conductive terminals. Finally, an electrical connector is connected between the conductive terminals and the actuator.
In still another form of the present invention, the battery magazine is attached within the interior of the housing such that at least a portion of the battery magazine is positioned above the opening in the bottom wall. A trap door is swingably associated with the bottom wall of the housing to selectably cover the opening for convenient access to the batteries in the battery magazine. The trap door may be swingably attached to the magazine by a battery bracket that includes at least one door mount. The at least one door mount engages a bracket retention channel comprising part of the trap door.
In another form of the invention, the battery bracket further includes at least one rail slidably connected to the battery magazine or the housing. In a preferred form, the battery bracket has two rails that are joined on one of their ends by a cross-over section and are slidably engaged in corresponding rail guide channels formed in the battery magazine. The other ends of the rails jog inwardly, forming a pair of door mounts. These door mounts engage the bracket retention channel comprising part of the trap door.
In yet another form, the trap door itself further comprises a first longitudinal end and a second longitudinal end. The bracket retention channel is adjacent the first longitudinal end. At least one protrusion extends from the second longitudinal end of the trap door. This protrusion interacts with the bottom wall of the housing to hold the trap door closed after it has been pivoted against the bottom wall of the housing to selectively cover the opening. The protrusion may include a sloped surface that helps it snap into the opening in the bottom wall of the housing. It is also beneficial for the trap door to include a handle adjacent the protrusion.
In still another form, the present invention has been designed such that the battery or batteries for the powered adjustable covering for the architectural opening are conveniently hidden within the headrail housing and accessible for removal and replacement. The invention preferably comprises a battery carrier and a battery carrier housing. The battery carrier and the battery carrier housing cooperate through an elongated opening in a bottom wall of the headrail housing. Once the batteries are placed in the battery carrier, the battery carrier is slid through the elongated opening, and the battery carrier is then retained by the battery carrier housing mounted above the elongated opening.
In another form of present invention, the system for holding the plurality of batteries in the headrail housing includes an elongated opening through a bottom wall of the headrail housing, a battery carrier housing, and a battery carrier. The battery carrier housing is mounted to the headrail housing, above the elongated opening. The battery carrier is thus substantially or fully contained within the headrail housing. The battery carrier includes a plurality of battery ports, one for each battery, into which the batteries are loaded. After the batteries are loaded, the battery carrier is then slidably mounted in the battery carrier housing. In a preferred form of the present invention, the battery carrier housing is removably mounted to the headrail housing, and the battery carrier is removably mounted to the battery carrier housing.
In yet another form of the invention, the system for holding the plurality of batteries in the headrail housing further includes a flange extending from a bottom edge of the front wall. A ledge extends rearwardly from the flange. The battery carrier has a lower edge with a discontinuous or continuous retention foot along it. When the battery carrier is fully installed in the battery carrier housing, the retention foot rides on the ledge.
The headrail of the present invention may also include a signal-receiving system adapted to be removably connected to the headrail housing. The signal-receiving system includes receiver electronics, a receiver holder that supports the receiver electronics and that is adapted to be removably affixed within the headrail housing, and a signal receiver operatively connected to the receiver electronics. The present invention has been designed such that the large components of the system may be hidden within the headrail housing while a small, unobtrusive signal receiver for actually receiving the remote-control signal and directing it toward the hidden large components projects from an edge of the headrail housing, valance, or over treatment for the motorized covering.
In a first preferred form, the signal receiver comprises a signal refractor that bends the remote-control signals toward a collector hidden within the headrail housing. In an alternative preferred form, the signal receiver comprises a remote eye that positions the collector for direct receipt of the remote-control signals. Fiber optic cable is operatively associated with the collector in both preferred forms. Also, the signal refractor or the remote eye preferably is mounted adjacent to a lowest edge of a headrail, valance, or over treatment for the window covering. The remote-control transmitting device thus generates signals that impinge upon the signal refractor or upon the collector of the remote eye, and which are subsequently transmitted via fiber optic cable to receiver electronics hidden within the headrail housing for further processing and interpretation. The signal-receiving system of the present invention thus permits the bulk of the system components to be hidden from view. The relatively small signal receiver of the system is the only clearly visible component from exteriorly of the headrail.
In a preferred form, the receiver holder, which may include a receiver holder base and a receiver holder cover, comprises at least one brace adapted to position the receiver holder within the headrail housing. In particular, the headrail housing may have a rear wall with a distal edge, and the brace may comprise a free end adapted to interact with the distal edge of the rear wall to snappingly position the receiver holder within the headrail housing. The receiver holder base and cover each has longitudinal ends. A pair of cover anchors may extend from the longitudinal ends of the receiver holder base, and a corresponding pair of catches may extend downwardly from the longitudinal ends of the receiver holder cover such that when the receiver holder cover is pressed into position on the receiver holder base, the catches snap past the cover anchors to removably secure the receiver holder cover to the receiver holder base. The receiver holder base may further comprise a bottom surface having a scoop extending therefrom.
When the signal receiver comprises a signal refractor, the signal refractor may have a first surface at its lower end. In a preferred form, when the signal refractor is in an operational position, the first surface is sloped relative to the horizontal. Preferably, the first surface forms an angle of approximately 45xc2x0 with the horizontal when the signal refractor is in the operational position. The signal refractor may also have a front surface that may be sloped relative to the vertical when the signal refractor is in the operational position. In yet another preferred form, the signal refractor includes a substantially horizontal channel into which an inwardly directed substantially horizontal ledge extending from the lowest edge of the front wall of the headrail housing is disengageably received.
When the signal receiver comprises a remote eye, it may be removably affixed to the valance or over-treatment designed to substantially concealing the headrail housing. In a preferred form, the remote eye comprises a housing with a collector positioned therein. In particular, the housing may comprise an upper half and a lower half, and the collector may extend outwardly through an opening in the lower half of the housing. There may be a rib formed on the exterior of the remote eye housing that cooperates with a generally U-shaped clamp or clip to removably attach the remote eye to a mounting surface (e.g., to a valance or over-treatment). For example, the clip may include an inner surface having a plurality of gripping ridges formed thereon to removably hold the remote eye to an over-treatment. A retention nub and flexible brace may comprise part of the clip to help releasably support the remote eye.
The headrail of the present invention may also include a system for mounting the motor within the headrail housing. The motor-mounting system may include a motor mount having a first leg, a second leg, a cross-over section joining the first leg and the second leg, and at least one indented shoulder associated with at least on of the first and second legs. In a first form of the motor mount, the cross-over section is substantially horizontal and has first and second longitudinal ends, the first leg is substantially vertical and extends downwardly from the first longitudinal end of the cross-over section, and the second leg is substantially vertical and extends downwardly from the second longitudinal end of the cross-over section. In this first form, the at least one indented shoulder comprises a first indented shoulder formed at a point where the first leg joins the first longitudinal end of the cross-over section, and a second indented shoulder formed at a point where the second leg joins the second longitudinal end of the cross-over section.
In a second form of the motor mount, the cross-over section is substantially vertical and has upper and lower lateral edges. The first leg is substantially horizontal and extends from the upper lateral edge of the cross-over section, and the second leg is substantially horizontal and extends from the lower lateral edge of the cross-over section. In this second form, the at least one indented shoulder comprises a first indented shoulder formed at a first lateral edge of the first leg, and a second indented shoulder formed at a second lateral edge of the first leg.
The motor-mounting system comprising part of the headrail of the present invention may also include a rigid motor mount at least partially surrounding the motor mount. This rigid motor mount may further comprise a substantially horizontal deck having first and second lateral edges; a first substantially vertical inner wall integrally joined with the first lateral edge of the deck; a second substantially vertical inner wall integrally joined with the second lateral edge of the deck; a first sloped outer wall integrally joined with the first substantially vertical inner wall, and extending outwardly and upwardly therefrom; and a second sloped outer wall integrally joined with the second substantially vertical inner wall, and extending outwardly and upwardly therefrom. A substantially-horizontal shelf may be formed at a distal end of each of the first and second sloped outer walls. A longitudinally-extending and inwardly-directed retention ledge may also be formed along a top edge of each of the fist and second substantially vertical inner wall to help hold the motor mount within the rigid motor mount.
The present invention also includes an apparatus, system, and method to permit easy assembly of a control system for the adjustable covering that is particularly well-suited for use with a motorized tilt control system. In its preferred embodiment, the present invention provides an inexpensive and effective clutch to prevent over-winding of the control cords onto a control shaft while minimizing torque on the motor or other mechanism used to drive the control shaft.
In one embodiment, the present invention comprises a control disk for use in conjunction with a rotatable control shaft of an adjustable covering for an architectural opening. The adjustable covering is controlled by at least a first cord, and at least some of the first cord winds onto the control shaft when the control shaft is rotated in a first direction, and unwinds from the control shaft as the control shaft rotates in a second direction. The control disk comprises (1) a disk body adapted to be mounted on the control shaft having a diameter substantially in excess of the shaft, and (2) at least a first cord connector, mounted on the disk body, for anchoring an end of the first cord to the disk body. In a preferred embodiment, the disk body is not rotatably fixed to the control shaft and operates as an elegant, inexpensive clutch to prevent the over-winding of the first cord onto the control shaft.
In another embodiment, the present invention comprises a control system for an adjustable covering for an architectural opening. The system comprises: (1) a control shaft rotatable about a longitudinal axis of rotation; (2) at least a first cord, connected to the adjustable covering and adapted to control the adjustable covering by wrapping onto, and unwrapping from, the control shaft as the control shaft rotates; and (3) at least a first control disk. The control disk preferably includes a disk body mounted on the control shaft and having a diameter substantially in excess of the control shaft and at least a first cord connector adapted to anchor the first cord to the disk body. Moreover, in a preferred embodiment, the disk body is not rotatably fixed to the control shaft.
In still another embodiment, the present invention comprises a method for assembling a control system for an architectural opening. Preferably, the adjustable covering (once assembled) is controlled by at least a first cord, at least some of the first cord winding onto a control shaft when the control shaft is rotated in a first direction and unwinding from the control shaft as the control shaft rotates in a second direction. The method comprising the steps of: (1) mounting a control disk onto a control shaft; (2) anchoring an end of the fist cord to the control disk; and (3) rotating the control disk relative to the control shaft to wrap the first cord at least partially around the control shaft.
Other aspects, features, and details of the present invention will be apparent from reading the following description and claims, and from reviewing the accompanying drawings.